It is an honor when you will be asked to give some piece of advice, while at the same time, a huge responsibility. A great advice helps people come up with a sound decision over an important something, or it will lead them to the right path to trek. On the contrary, an erroneous advice can bring forth disastrous consequences. Favorably, with several significant forethoughts, you can verily weed out the awry advices from the good ones.

How to give advice? For you to provide with rightful advices, you need to be a good listener. Take the time to listen very carefully to the person who is asking for the advice. Do not forget that every situation is different from the others. Therefore, do not assume that you already know anything about the dilemma the person is facing with. It is vital that you listen no matter how familiar you think his or her condition is. Listen and listen closely and carefully. Learn everything you can about the situation at hand. Ask questions if there are things you need clarifications. As an active listener, you will not be able only to offer benevolent advices but chances are, the person asking for it will adhere to your advices.

It will help you tremendously if you try to put yourself in the advisee’s shoes. Imagine you are in the same situation he or she is in. And then ponder on the lessons you learned. However, do not solely rely on your experiences in giving advices. Always bear in mind that your advice is for a different and unique circumstance that another person is dealing with.

Anticipate on the consequences of your advice. And while at it, also think of the plausible aftermath if your advice will not be followed. If you discovered that there seems to be no significant difference between the two results, then your advice may not be that bad, but it is not helpful either. Meanwhile, if you envision a worse result coming after taking your advice, rather than an alternative solution, th

Take your time. Do not rush to provide advices you are unsure of. Thoughtfully think of what you are about to say, considering all the pros and cons, as well as the benefits of every advice. This is especially important when dealing with complex problems, so as not to make matters worst. More importantly, think of the long term and short-term effects of your advice. Essential decisions are really important given their long-term results.

Many matters need to be faced with thoughtfulness and sensitivity. If you practice putting yourself in the problematic person’s shoes, you will naturally develop empathy somehow. Even so, always be mindful of your words. Be sensitive to his or her emotional state. To give advices go beyond just being some logical exercise. It involves assisting and supporting a person in sorting out his or her conflicting emotions, as well as conflicting choices.

In addition, do not disregard the fact that there are times when a problem seems not to have a clear-cut answer. If this is the case, it helps to brainstorm all the alternatives with the person you are trying to help with, for him or her to arrive at a conclusion either on his or her own or together with you. Mull over the options and lay every angle open, as much as you can. And if you come up with something and you see some potential drawbacks to it, be honest enough to tell the person too. Your goal must not wrongfully lead the person; instead, help him or her come out from the bewildering dilemma he or she is in.

As you give out advices, no matter how perfect they sound to you, do not all together expect the person to accord to them or follow them. You have to understand that he or she is only asking for advices, and that the decision to accede to them or not is still up to him or her. There are times when people only ask advices to accumulate ideas. Do not act surprise if they reject your counsel. Deal with it. Let others live up to their decision, just as long as you constantly keep with you good intentions in giving good advices.